You're the One Bucky Barnes

Chapter 4

Not that her house was a mess, but if she was opening up her home to a superhero, she wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Freshly cleaned sheets, towels in the guest bathroom, snacks, and plenty of beverages. Not too many avengers have ever needed to stay, but she always made them feel welcomed and gave them a comfortable place to rest and recover.

Thursday arrived. Kira had taken off work. She wasn't sure when Bucky would arrive or how urgent his mission was. She felt nervous. This was odd. It's Just a mission, she reminded herself. She sighed as she walked around.

Knock Knock

She took a deep breath as she peered through the peephole. He was here. She opened the door and smiled as she greeted him, "Hey, come on in" she waved her hand out and motioned to the living room.

Bucky smiled back at her as he walked in, "Thanks for letting me stay on such short notice."

"It's really no problem. I mean, you ONLY helped save the world. It's the least I can do." She watched him look around. He nodded a few times before turning and meeting her eyes.

"If you have time, I can show you around." She pointed behind her.

"That would be great" he smiled gently

She turned and walked over to the kitchen. "I stocked the fridge and pantry. Cups and plates over here" she pointed to some cabinets and then pulled a drawer "silverware here. Please help yourself to whatever." She moved around and walked down the hallway with Bucky following behind her, "This is the bathroom for you to use. And this is your room." she pointed to the room across the hall.

He walked into the room and gently placed his backpack on the bed. She stood at the door frame, watching him take in the room. "This is a very nice room, " he expressed,  "Much better than any hotel I've ever stayed at." He smiled at her.

"Oh and one more thing" she nodded her head to the side and urged him back into the hallway. She ushered him past the kitchen towards the garage, "I do have a security system"

He laughed, She looked over and he had a smirk on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him, "is there something wrong with my security system?"

He lifted his metal arm up, leaning it up against the wall next to the alarm box and confidently commented, "I don't think you'll be needing a security system with me here Doll"

She lightly bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling so hard, "ANYWAYS" She continued after shaking her head at his flex, "This is the code to turn the system on and off. YOU may not need the security" She turned and lightly poked at his chest, "But when I am home, I like to use it. Thank you very much." She turned and walked towards the kitchen.

The smirk still played on his face as he watched her walk by.

Kira moved some things around in the kitchen as Bucky wandered over to the living room. "And don't worry, I won't ask about your mission." She stated, "I get that some things are secretive and on a 'need-to-know' basis."

He shrugged as he turned to look at some pictures standing on the fireplace mantel, "Thanks. It's nothing too serious right now." He saw a picture of Kira and another guy sitting at the beach together. Happy...He hadn't seen that smile yet. She was glowing. But who was this guy in the photo? He lifted up the frame, "I uh..hope your boyfriend doesn't mind a super solider staying over." Shit. He froze. That came out a little bit more rude than he anticipated.

"My boyfriend?" She looked over from the kitchen, "Oh..." She walked over and took the frame from him. She stared at it for a moment. There was a faint smile on her face but her eyes were filled with a deep sadness. "This is Aaron. My brother..." 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" he started but she cut him off with a small teasing glare. "It's okay, Really. You didn't know"

"Yeah, didn't know you had a brother." He mentioned as she placed the frame back up,  watching her trace her finger alongside her brother in the photo

"He died a few years before the Blip." She sighed

Bucky looked back over at the photo, "I'm sorry...." He didn't want to ask but part of him needed closure on his death. There were still many pits of darkness from his days as The Winter Soldier he hadn't uncovered. He needed to make sure "What happened?"

"Don't worry," she looked over at Bucky and as if reading his mind, "It didn't have anything to do with you." she sniffled, looking away to compose herself, "It was a stupid car accident."

Bucky watched as she turned and huffed. She walked back over to the kitchen, "life is too short!" she hollered as she threw a hand in the air.

She entered the kitchen and turned around. Bucky was gone. She peered around to check if he followed her. "Uhm Bucky? I didn't mean to scare you away?"

She heard a slight chuckle from the hallways. Bucky walked out with something in his hands, "I almost forgot," he walked into the kitchen and handed her a bottle, "I brought this for you." He made a fist and covered his mouth to hide his embarrassment, "to thank you for letting me stay"

Kira took it and looked it over. It was a bottle of red wine and not any cheap bottle she had ever purchased before. "Wow" Her face lit up, "This is very sweet. You really didn't have to."

He bit down on his lower lip as his put his hand down on the counter, "You seemed to enjoy the wine you were having over the weekend at Sarah's house. I thought you might like this"

She squeezed the bottle and turned her back to him. Her cheeks turned red.

He had noticed her?